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Showing posts from June 29, 2007

#045, Herewith [words excised] to countersign it

Swami Vivekananda wrote to Ms. Christina Greenstidel from Boston, on the 22nd March 1896. "... Herewith [words excised] to countersign it and put it [words excised]. I am afraid I have made a mistake in writing Miss to your name. In that case you will have to sign also as Miss etc. ..." BLOGGER'S VIEWS *What could be this document which needed countersignature? *Why words in brackets were excised? *What is wrong in writing Miss to a name? *Was she Mrs.? *Why did Vivekananda sign it? *Vivekananda's devotees say that his relationship with Ms. Christina is that of a father and daughter. If so, could this document be an adoption deed? If Vivekananda made a mistake by writing "Miss" in her name, did he mean that she was Mrs.? If she was a Mrs., can a monk adopt a married woman as daughter?

#044, Shift from Raja Yoga to Bhakti Yoga

There are three paths primarily discussed in Hinduism: 1. Karma Yoga: This has three branches. First branch: Karma Yoga in the meaning of doing duty, dispassionately. Great men like Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak followed this path. There are no verses to prove that Hindu scriptures preached this path of duty in its purest sense. Gandhiji and Bala Gangadhara Tilak derived this sense, as they were great men working in the direction of Indian freedom. Second branch: Karma Yoga in the meaning of doing duty as stipulated by a person's caste. This is preached by Bhagavad Gita and most Hindu scriptures. Arjuna was made to practise it by Krishna. Ramayana, Mahabharata (& Gita), Maha Bhagavata insist on people doing their duty stipulated by their caste. Third branch: Performing sacrifices (yagnas), charity (Dana), penance (tapas). If these actions are performed people will get access to heaven. After exhausting the fruits of their good deeds (they have to return back to earth:...